Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Accounting News Roundup: Ukraine and PwC; “The Accountant” Sequel; Subtle Andersen Jokes | 07.05.17

accounting news volvo pwc ukraine

PwC

The Wall Street Journal reports that the government of Ukraine may ban PwC from performing audits there. The situation stems from the National Bank of Ukraine’s effort to rebuild the country’s banking system and its questions around PrivatBank:

PrivatBank, which accounts for one-third of all individual deposits in the country, plays an outsize role in Ukrainian politics and has managed to skirt reforms.

PrivatBank was controlled by tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky, who bankrolled armed formations supporting the Ukrainian military in its fight against Russia-backed separatists and who owns one of Ukraine’s most popular television stations. Nearly all of PrivatBank’s corporate loans were made to companies tied to its shareholders, according to a 2016 analysis by PwC rival Ernst & Young LLP.

PwC audited PrivatBank’s finances from the mid-1990s until 2015. In a statement Tuesday, Ukraine’s central bank raised questions about PwC’s work, saying it has the power to revoke a firm’s eligibility to conduct bank audits if the quality of those audits is judged to be subpar.

I guess the problem with being a mega professional services firm is that you’re going to have problems of this sort in every corner of the world. The article makes the larger point that PwC’s problems are seemingly everywhere right now, with open investigations in the U.K. and Brazil, as well as rehashing the settlements with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and MF Global. Oh, and the Oscars thing, too.

The Accountant 2

This news is over a week old, but I can’t not mention that The Accountant sequel is in negotiations right now. A few months ago we talked about the possible subtitles for such a film, and I’m sure Hollywood executives could still use your help in coming up with the right one. At this stage, I think The Accountant: Overtime or The Accountant: Reconcile This should still be considered. And although the title for the sequel is still in the works, I’m sure a production house specializing in adult entertainment has already secured The Accountant: Between the Spreadsheets for its version.

Honorable Mention

In this New York Times book review of ProPublica reporter Jesse Eisinger’s The Chickenshit Club Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives, Arthur Andersen is offered as an example of when a company was criminally charged with wrongdoing. It includes this dig: “Andersen was already collapsing because it had shredded its own reputation.” Intentional or not, I felt it couldn’t go unappreciated.

Brought to you by Accountingfly

Beech Valley Solutions is trying to fill several openings, including an Interim CFO/COO, and two controller positions. Accountingfly’s featured job of the week was a Senior Accountant with Dillwood, Burkel & Millar.

Previously, on Going Concern…

I’ve returned from my vacation, but since the last ANR, Megan Lewczyk wrote about her experience with the CPA exam bonus clawback.

Greg Kyte put together a 5-part Exposure Drafts miniseries starring Viking CPA.

Rachel Andujar wondered if anyone’s preparing tax returns the same way as they were 5 years ago.

Marsha Leest offered questions to ask yourself to see if you’re in the right job.

I even dug out an old Accountingfly post I wrote about networking.

In other news:

Get the Accounting News Roundup in your inbox every weekday by signing up here.

Latest Accounting Jobs--Apply Now:

Have something to add to this story? Give us a shout by email, Twitter, or text/call the tipline at 202-505-8885. As always, all tips are anonymous.

Comments are closed.

Related articles

cat on a desk

Friday Footnotes: RTO Isn’t Going So Great; KPMG Wins Something; What Auditors? | 5.19.23

Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you’re here, subscribe to our newsletter to get the week’s top stories in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. See ya. ICYMI I Love Accounting. So I Had to Leave. [GC] Benjamin […]

cat with breakfast in bed

Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Identical Twins Head to Deloitte; TWO PwC Leaks; VA Tackles 150 | 5.15.23

Good morning and happy Monday! Here’s some stuff happening. Virginia Society of CPAs is tackling the question “is 150 too many?” For nearly the past two decades, prospective CPAs in Virginia have had to undertake 150 hours of education before becoming licensed. But a declining CPA pipeline has accountants asking: Is the 150 now a […]